Renewable energy rises by nearly a third in the UK to hit 15% of all energy - but it is still dwarfed by King Coal

The amount of sustainable energy generated in the UK has risen by nearly a third

The Vale of Glamorgan is seen as a prime site for wind turbines because of its coastal position, say campaigners

Almost 15% of the UK’s electricity was generated from renewables last year, official figures show.

The statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show a 30% increase in the power coming from renewables in 2013, bringing the share of electricity from sources such as wind, hydropower and biomass up to 14.9%.

More than a third (36%) of the country’s electricity was generated from coal, with 27% coming from more expensive gas, and 20% from nuclear power.

The amount of installed renewable capacity was up 27% on 2012, the figures showed, with another 4.2 gigawatts of renewables on the system.

This was mostly due to a 27% increase in onshore wind, with an extra 1.6 gigawatts installed, and a 59% or 1 gigawatt increase in solar electricity panels, both in small scale domestic and community arrays and large scale solar farms,

The statistics showed that both offshore and onshore wind farms were as efficient as gas-fired power stations, operating at the same or higher percentage of their capacity as gas plants.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey said: “The Government’s investment in renewable energy is paying off: renewable electricity has more than doubled in just four years - with around 15% of Britain’s electricity already coming from clean renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro.

“This massive investment in green energy is accelerating, with 2013 a record year, with almost £8 billion invested across range of renewable technologies.

“A green energy future that once seemed impossible for Britain is fast becoming a reality.”

Some 5.2% of total energy consumption, which includes heating and transport as well as electricity, came from renewables, up from 4.2% the previous year. The UK has a legally-binding EU target to source 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020.

Once differences in temperature, including the very cold start to 2013, are taken into account, total energy consumption was down slightly, by 0.3%, continuing a downward trend over the last nine years.

The statistics showed a fall in production of natural gas, oil and coal in 2013, and that energy imports reached record levels in 2013, up 2.3% from 2012.

While much of the focus on Europe’s energy security in light of tensions with Russia over the situation in Ukraine has been on gas, the figures reveal that Russia is a key source of coal for the UK.

The UK imported two fifths (41%) of its coal from Russia in 2013, 25% from the US and 23% from Colombia.

But there was a drop in the amount of electricity coming from coal, down three percentage points on 2012, and major power producers used 7.4% less coal in 2013 as a result of lower demand and more renewables, the statistics showed.

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